Genome-wide relatedness shapes predatory behavior of Pristionchus pacificus. Genome-wide relatedness from nematode RNA-seq

Nematodes of the family diplogastridae have acquired a morphological novelty in their mouthform, i.e. they develop teeth-like structures that allow them to predate and feed on other nematodes, including Caenorhabditis elegans. Interestingly, P. pacificus kill larvae of other Pristionchus species but not their own offspring, which indicates the presence of a self recognition system. We recently identified the micropeptide SELF-1 as the first component of this system, but numerous observations point at the existence of additional factors. Here, we examine predatory behavior in local populations of P. pacificus and test whether it can be explained by genome-wide relatedness.

双胃线虫科（Diplogastridae）的线虫在口器形态上演化出一项形态学创新，即形成可用于捕食并取食包括秀丽隐杆线虫（Caenorhabditis elegans）在内的其他线虫的齿状结构。有趣的是，太平洋拟杆线虫（Pristionchus pacificus，缩写P. pacificus）可捕杀其他拟杆线虫属（Pristionchus）物种的幼虫，却不会伤害自身后代，这表明该类群存在一套自我识别系统。我们近期已鉴定出微肽SELF-1作为该系统的首个组分，但诸多观测结果提示还存在其他额外因子。本研究对太平洋拟杆线虫的本地种群的捕食行为进行了探究，并检验其捕食行为是否可通过全基因组亲缘关系予以解释。